Valencia will host an international congress in February to bring together manufacturers and suppliers of sustainable mobility. The appointment will be an excuse to show the capabilities of what is the host territory of the next Seat-Volkswagen gigafactory, and to meet European and international manufacturers the capabilities of the Valencian industry in the face-to-face relationship. A high-level networking that will coincide, if the rhythms do not change much, with the first construction works of the long-awaited Sagunt plant.
The Generalitat Valenciana plans the event as a high-level showcase in which to show off everything the industry can offer, including the automotive industry, which a few days ago showed a clear interest in also being recognized in the sustainable field by changing its image to become known as the “automotive and mobility cluster of the Valencian Community”.
This step, like the trip he is making these days to the IZB international supplier fair held in Germany’s Wolfsburg, is an example of how Valencian companies are positioning themselves in the race to supply large manufacturers.
At the appointment in Germany, the manager of AVIA Elena Lluch explains that they are working “exploring collaboration with Volkswagen, as well as with other multinationals and manufacturers that may be interested in settling in the Valencian Community”.
The objective is to attract investments through the installation of companies and entities related to the automotive industry and sustainable mobility, for which those attending the congress planned in February and whose announcement was made this Monday from Brussels by President Ximo Puig, after meeting with the director of communications of the Association of European Manufacturers of Automotive and Industrial Batteries, Gert Meylemans, and with the director of Policy and EU Affairs, Pau Sanchis.
“The Valencian Community has become a sustainable mobility pole, not only because of what the gigafactory entails, but also the entire group of companies that are part of the Battery Alliance and the group of companies that exist throughout the territory” , pointed out President Puig, who thus messianically recovered the Valencian Battery Alliance, a prelude to the gigafactory and one of the factors that contributed to putting together the Valencian project.
The Alliance, led by the company Power Electronics, was presented in February 2021, months before the Valencian Community entered the race for the Seat-Volkswagen gigafactory and implies the creation of a new energy storage industry beyond the 24 companies are involved in the automotive industry, including Ford, Stadler, Zeleros or Grupo Segura, but also research centers such as ITE, the University of Valencia or the Polytechnic University of Valencia, another key player in Sagunt’s success . It would mean the construction of another gigafactory, in this case for lithium batteries, and in parallel, that of a storage solutions research center.
Another aspect that is being worked on in parallel this week is training, intrinsically linked to Seat’s gigafactory project, which especially insisted on having a pool of graduates in technological disciplines.
That is why a delegation made up of representatives from the Departments of Education and the Economy traveled to Mexico this week to meet with members of PowerCo Volkswagen, the company that will manage the Sagunt gigafactory, as well as with the Mexican Government regarding the Specialization Center of High Level Human Resources in the Automotive Sector. It is a model to follow for the future VT center that will be located next to the Sagunt plant and in which Education will invest 15 million euros.
